**Food Friday** Easter Eats

I love to cook (duh) but sometimes I wish it was just more than Husband and myself so I could indulge in my love of big meals. Well for Easter, I got to do just that when I cooked lunch for us and the Neighbors. They are by far one of my favorite families and even let us partake in hiding and the subsequent finding of Easter eggs. It was such a beautiful day, our girls even participated (well they spent a lot of time trying to slip their head harnesses and roll in the grass).

Not only did I get to make a big meal but I also, wait for it, planned it ahead of time. I know, Husband was shocked too, and when cleanup time rolled around and it was just a matter of sticking everything in the dishwasher, I had to really ask myself, "WHY HAVEN'T YOU DONE THIS BEFORE?!" So having done pretty much everything but the mashed potatoes the night before, I got to enjoy the morning sitting on the porch soaking up as much vitamin D as possible with Mandie.

I promise you, she's thrilled it's Easter.

Homemade Bread

HAM! (I remembered to get a picture this year)

Potatoes boiling away

Alfredo Cheddar Butter Mashed Potatoes...eat if you dare.

 I also made a green bean casserole sans french fried onions (horrors I know! But I don't particularly care for them and neither does my hips) but since it is such a standard dish, I didn't deem it picture worthy. That and it only lasted like two seconds.

And if you're wondering, yes I did eat some of my Alfredo Cheddar Butter Mashed Potatoes. I actually had two helpings and I'd do it again because they, my friends, are freaking spectacular.

Alfredo Cheddar Butter Mashed Potatoes

Printable Version

 

5lbs yukon gold potatoes

2 1/2 cups chicken broth

water

salt to taste

1 jar alfredo sauce (I used the roasted garlic Safeway brand)

8 Tbl butter

1/2 cup milk

2 cups grated Sharp Cheddar cheese

Peel and chop potatoes into 1 inch pieces and put in pot with chicken broth and enough water to cover. Add salt and bring to boil. Once boiling, turn down heat and let potatoes cook until fork tender (I actually let mine get to fork mashable but that's just my preference).

When they potatoes are soft, drain and either return to pot or put in whatever bowl you're going to use to mix them in. Add alfredo sauce, butter and milk (I put the butter in first and then the potatoes in so butter melts from their heat). Use electric mixer to beat smooth (unless you have another prefer mashing method, I'm undomestic remember, so I do not). Stir in cheese until melted. Resist urge to take pot to your bedroom and not come out until the entire thing is empty.

So what did you do for Easter??

Food Friday

I have to admit, I found this week challenged me foodily and not in a good way. I could never quite get on the same page as my menu and I found that my kitchen just wouldn't stay clean. Throw in the rain and 40 mph gusts of wind, and it's just been one of those weeks. Case in point: I have a carpet runner in the washing machine because Husband couldn't get Mandie out the door fast enough this morning. I don't know if you can actually wash a carpet runner in the washing machine but Maternal Unit suggested the delicate cycle, so we'll see what happens (apparently, I'm way too lazy to track down my Little Green machine). I did manage to come up with some edible items, so here they are in all...their mediocrity.



Slow Cooker Ham

We're a total turkey for Thanksgiving, ham for Christmas family and I only make my ham in the slow cooker. I also ate the piece with all the crispiness on it. It was delish.

Husband devoured this ham, which I glazed with my own homemade glaze. Okay, are you ready for this? Are you sure, because it's complex. Take a half cup pineapple juice and a half cup brown sugar and put them in a saucepan and bring it to a boil, stirring continuously, until thickened. Pour over ham. I know, I'm totally full of myself.

So this year, I went very low key. Instead of making everything myself (short of growing whatever veggie I decided to make), previous holiday food had all been from scratch. This year I had to work 12 am to 8 am at The Hotel, so I knew I wasn't going to want to cook when I got home. So it was corn from a can, brown and serve rolls from Safeway and the mashed potatoes were from scratch. Because I make the best mashed potatoes. Just ask anyone (who values their life).

source

Once a week, I end up having to work back to back shifts at both jobs and with the need to get enough sleep, I don't have the time to really cook, so we have a Freezer Food day. That's right, I buy frozen entrees and myself an extra hour hour of sleep. This week, we had Margaritaville Calypso Coconut Shrimp, which were quite tasty but don't expect Red Lobster perfection here. The biggest plus, though, was the abundance of sauce they give you. One packet totally sauces 12 shrimp and I'm a huge double (okay, triple) dipper. Kudos on the sauce Margaritaville!

Out of the frying pan and ready for the oven

I will say, though, while this week was particularly humdrum, I did conquer one of my fears: frying food. *wild applause here* I am deathly afraid that I will somehow spark the Apocalypse by frying anything. However, when I came across a recipe for Taco Bell Mexican Pizzas at Fantastical Sharing of Recipes, I couldn't resist. The Taco Bell inspired grilled stuffed burritos had been such a huge success, I thought, why not try to recreate the whole menu?! (okay maybe not the whole menu, but at least the stuff I like). Anywho, I used a whole pound of ground turkey versus a half pound, so I turned mine into double decker Mexican pizzas.

Whatever the Spanish is for "eat me," insert that here.

These were really good, except you wouldn't know it from Husband. Unbeknownst to me, he'd picked up something to eat (from Taco Bell, ironically enough) right before coming home. Well, all was not lost, as I've now popped my frying cherry (wow that really does read just as disgusting as it sounds and yet I can't bring myself to delete it). It's like a whole new world for me.

So, did you try your hand at something new this week? Flambe perhaps or maybe making ketchup from scratch?

Food Friday

So apparently I'm incapable of saving a picture on my phone (my ineptitude astounds even me sometimes), so I have no physical evidence of the Ham-to-put-all-other-hams-to-shame. It was edible and super tender but I think I can do better. Testing this theory will have to wait until next year, though, because ham is $&#&%R^ expensive.

Since the Ham-to-put-all-other-hams-to-shame was the only bit of epicurean anything I've done this week, I thought I'd share a video of something completely unrelated. One of my coworkers got me a huge singing balloon for my birthday and Melodie was not quite sure how to feel about the floating monstrosity. Actually, she had quite a bit to say about it.

Ah puppy.

Next Friday: Panini Week! Bought some amazing sourdough bread from Trader Joe's in anticipation.

Food Friday

Well I gotta a whole lotta nothing for you today. Dinners this week were courtesy of friends who took pity on the lonely UDG or a half pound of sunflower seeds (the entire tip of my tongue has been rubbed raw due to salt consumption, not to mention I'm retaining an extra fifteen pounds in water; no really it's water). Today's lunch was brought to me courtesy of the frozen section at Trader Joe's. How purely unimaginative. Hopefully I'll make up for it Sunday, when I bust out "The Ham to Put All Other Hams to Shame." It will be epic.

This smells as delicious as it looks.

Trying to alter the chemical addiction introduced by my pimp aka Husband

UDG